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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 2012-05-21/ \ Study Session of the Ithaca Town Board Monday, May 21,2012 at 4:30 p.m. 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 Agenda 1. Call to Order 2. Review Draft Agenda for Regular Meeting 3. Town Official's Reports 4. Report from Committees a. Budget Committee b. Codes and Ordinances Committee c. Comprehensive Plan Committee d. Planning Committee e. Personnel and Organization Committee f. Public Works Committee , g. Records Management Advisory Board (RMAB) h. Ethics Board 5. Discussion Item Insurance Liability 101 Town Hall Maintenance Items Town of Dry den Sewer Billing Discuss Potential Corporate Personhood Resolution 6. Consider and Approve Award of Penny Lane Water Main Replacement Project 7. Authorization for Supervisor to Sign Contract with Village of Cayuga Heights Police for Court Security a. Approval of Town Board Minutes of April 23^^ and May 1^ 2012 8. Consider Consent Agenda Items a. Approval of Town Boan b. Town of Ithaca Abstract 9. Review of Correspondence 10. Consider Adjournment Study Sessionof the Ithaca Town Board Monday, May 21, 2012 at 4:30 p.m. 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 Minutes Board Members Present: Herb Engman, Supervisor; Bill Goodman, Deputy Town Supervisor; Pat Leary, Eric Levine, and Rich DePaolo Absent: Tee-Ann Hunter and Nahmin Horwitz Staff Present: Bruce Bates, Director of Code Enforcement; Mike Solvig, Director of Finance, Judy Drake, Director of Human Resources and Paulette Terwilliger, Town Clerk Call to Order Meeting was called to order by Mr. Engman at 4:33 p.m. Review Draft Agenda for Regular Meeting The Board discussed cancelling the June Regular meeting. It was decided that we would wait and see if anything time sensitive came up for the agenda. Town Official’s Reports th Ms. Drake posed possible dates for a Board/Department Head lunch and June 14 was selected. Report from Committees Budget Committee – Mr. Levine reported that a draft budget was presented that would be under the 2% cap and they discussed Mr. Weber’s memo on town hall maintenance budgeting. Codes and Ordinances Committee – Mr. Goodman reported that they looked at the definition of garages and accessory buildings again and they are separating out the two. They hope to have them ready by the end of the next meeting. They also looked at allowing woodsheds in the side yard if they met certain limits. They also talked about the sprinkler law and although it was not unanimous, the majority wanted small changes to exempt certain storage buildings. The next meeting will be to wrap up those and then get back to the sign law. Mr. Bates added that they were also looking at clarifying residential structure requirements such as garages because right now it is a gray area. Ms. Leary added that she has been working with Dan Tasman regarding taxi rates and doing some preliminary work to bring to the committee at a later date. Comprehensive Plan Committee – Mr. Engman reported that they meet this Thursday and will be looking at the final version of the land use map and the introduction and he hopes they will be ready for public comment. It won’t be final because they want feedback but they hope it will be ready to start the commenting phase which will lead to revisions and then into the formal adoption process. TBS 05 21 2012 Page 2 of 10 Planning Committee – Mr. DePaolo reported that they heard from Tom Mank from ITCTC again who presented a few maps designed to show differences between the County’s trend growth scenario and trend growth plus the densification of West Hill as currently proposed in the Comprehensive Plan. What they determined was that there is a lot of information that is not useful; apparently the closer you are to the source of the traffic the more reliable the data is but as people get farther out, you don’t really know where they are going to end up so you can’t handicap that. What they are going to endeavor to do is Mr. Mank has agreed to meet with Planning staff and talk about what is useful and what conclusions we can draw from the past few months and what is valuable enough to incorporate into a summary report for presentation to the Committee at the June meeting then onto the Board in July. Personnel and Organization Committee – Mr. Goodman reported that they continued going through the job classification project and discussed feedback from the ERC. This will lead to getting the titles into the appropriate categories and then looking at the salaries that go with those. They also talked a bit about the health care contributions and determining a percentage amount that will be similar to the union flat contribution. Ms. Leary noted that there was concern voiced about tying the contribution to a percentage due to predictability and personal budgeting. They also talked about dental insurance and Ms. Leary commented that she came across a statistic that one quarter of Americans age 65 and over have no teeth. Under the Organization portion they talked about the Community Garden and the possible garden at East Hill. Public Works Committee -- Mr. Goodman reported that he and nahmin had gone to Cortland about the road preservation seminar given by TCCOG and a gadget to measure road wear was shown and there were also two lawyers that have been working with municipalities but nothing we are not aware of. He felt the main thing we need to figure out is the limits we want to set and he believes we should have lower limits that those passed by the County. Mr. Engman added that he went to the meeting on gas-lines at the library sponsored by TCCOG and there was a man from the Public Service Commission and a woman who has done a lot of work with federal regulation of the gas line industry and the attorney said there is very little influence to be has and the Public Service Commission (PSC) person stated that all the gas lines would be permitted by the PSC. Mr. Engman thought that the gathering lines that lead from the wells to the transmission mains would be regulated by the municipality but he said no, the PSC would and it goes by pipe size and pressure in the pipes and they would cover them all. Mr. Engman asked specifically what could municipalities do then, and he responded that noise ordinances and road cut regulations would apply and they would also take into consideration any other local laws that were in place. Even if we don’t’ have gas drilling they may try to put gas lines so that could still be an issue. Mr. Engman noted that Champion oil company is considering a transmission line according to something he got in the mail and laying gas lines is different than drilling and some things are happening. Mr. Goodman noted that the public meeting regarding the Pine Tree Road Bridge is tomorrow night and he plans to attend. TBS 05 21 2012 Page 3 of 10 Records Management Advisory Board (RMAB) – Ms. Terwilliger reported that the meeting today was canceled due to board member absences but she did want to discuss disposing of duplicative tax assessment rolls. She submitted a draft resolution and stated that the retention period for these is 10 years after the final rolls are received and we have them back to 1970’s. She stated that she compared random sets to make sure there is no difference in the information and she found none. TB RESOLUTION NO. 2012- 106: Approval of Disposition List WHEREAS, the retention period for Assessment Rolls is 10 years after filing; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the disposition of Assessment Rolls from 1979 through 2001 for a total of 18 boxes. Moved: Bill Goodman Seconded: Eric Levine Vote: Ayes – Engman, Goodman, Leary, Hunter, Levine, and DePaolo Absent: Horwitz and Hunter Ethics Board – Ms. Terwilliger reported that the forms were reviewed and some minor issues and one larger issue. The Ethics Board would like the attorneys for the town to list other not-for- profits and municipalities that they represent to avoid any appearance of conflict. They were all comfortable that our attorneys would recuse themselves, but felt those associations should be listed and they interpret question 2b to be asking for it. Discussion followed on privacy issues. Ms. Terwilliger stated that the Ethics Board was concerned about representation that is common knowledge using the example that if one were to call the Town of Dryden and ask who their attorney is and one of ours is given, that should be listed. The feeling of the Town Board is that this information should be given and Ms. Terwilliger should convey to our attorneys the Ethics Board’s request and the feel of the Town Board. AdHoc Committee Fire Protection – Mr. Engman reported that they took a field trip to Enfield and thought it was a very nice place and with nice equipment and an annual budget of $300K. Recreation Committee – . MrDePaolo reported that we are waiting for the report from the college. Discussion Item Insurance Liability 101 Jack Litzenberger and Jim Stoddard from Haylor, Fryer and Coon were available for questions. Ms. Drake noted that some board members had requested a discussion on the basics of what our liability coverage is. She used the example of a tree that falls in the roadway but the trunk is not TBS 05 21 2012 Page 4 of 10 on our property. How do we control that and what is our liability. The same with Parks & Trails, how do we protect ourselves or limit our liability? Both representatives talked about prior notice and maintenance. The nature of our “business” has liabilities attached to it. In the case of the tree example; if you are aware of a “risky” tree and you tell the resident and document it, that helps and if it does fall in your right-of-way then removing the obstruction and danger in a timely manner protects you to a large extent. Documentation and a regular maintenance schedule for trails and parks protects you to extent possible. You can’t make people obey or even read the signs; but if they are there and you check them periodically, that is going to go well for you in a liability case. The attempt at protection and information shows you are doing what you can to avoid danger/liability. Mr. Engman asked about the Ash Borer infestation coming and noted that the Town has already done a survey of their trees and started removing those trees that we assumed would be killed and so we took aggressive steps to protect to the extent possible. Mr. Litzenberger stated that we are doing more than the majority that might have an exposure and the fact that we are even talking about it now and doing preliminary precautions would bode very well for a liability case. Mr. DePaolo asked if it would be helpful for the Town to pass a local law to describe the resident’s responsibilities to avoid liability and Mr. Litzenberger said it might help to recover costs and he will research it further on his end. Ms. Drake asked about our liability when we are taking property that is donated to us. Should we accept it; especially if it is near a water source. Should liability risk drive the decision? The representatives responded that this is a common question and again, maintenance and proper signage is the key. It is a normal and typical exposure to a municipality. Mr. Engman asked about clubs running on our trails and whether that increases our liability and should ask for additional insurance. Mr. Litzenberger responded that if it is an organized group we should at least ask to be named as an additionally insured; basically get it when you can get it but having them sign the hold harmless clause does provide some coverage. It is one more attempt to help in the event of an accident. There could also be event policies for certain activities that could require insurance which would spread the risk. Mr. Goodman asked about guardrails and whether they should be used more widely. Mr. Stoddard responded that NY has prior notice laws that provide some protection and if notice is received of a defect or a major hazard, those should be fixed or installed but it is not reasonable to put them everywhere. Mr. Engman asked about coverage for elected officials and Mr. Litzenberger responded that the Town has public officials’ coverage and appointed officials are covered under a worker’s comp and NY State liability which covers all employees and the error would have occurred in the course of their duties. Mr. DePaolo asked about residents who report a defect on a state or county road and whether we have any responsibility or liability attached if we do not do anything. In practice, we tell the TBS 05 21 2012 Page 5 of 10 residents whose road it is and direct them to the pertinent agency and in many case, especially when it is electronic, we also forward it to the agency responsible. The representatives stated that it is not our responsibility or liability. Mr. Bates asked about the our property maintenance law in the tree falling example; who is responsible for notifying the resident that there is an issue. Mr. Litzenberger responded that if the town is aware of it, notice should be given to the property owner that there is an issue and it should be taken care of. Mr. Stoddard wrapped up the discussion by stating that the town has a big umbrella policy similar to homeowner’s insurance that covers people, properties, autos, equipment etc. He felt the Town was very well covered with no gaping holes. Mr. DePaolo left the meeting for an appointment. Action items TB RESOLUTION NO. 2012 - 107: Recommendation of Appointment to Board of Fire Commissioners. WHEREAS,Commissioner Harry Ellsworth’s term on the Ithaca Board of Fire Commissioners as a Town of Ithaca representative expires on June 30, 2012; and WHEREAS,the appointment to the said position is made by the City of Ithaca Common Council based upon a resolution recommending appointment by the Town of Ithaca Town Board; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the governing Town Board hereby requests and recommends that the City of Ithaca Common Council reappoint Harry E. Ellsworth as the Town of Ithaca representative on the Board of Fire Commissioners for a three-year term commencing which will expire on June 30, 2015 Moved: Eric Levine Seconded: Bill Goodman Vote: Ayes – Engman, Goodman, Leary, Hunter, Levine, and DePaolo Absent: Horwitz, DePaolo and Hunter Modification of Easement for 6 Saunders Road Mr. Hebdon explained that the Town received notice of an encroachment issue discovered during the sale of a property. Both the house and a retaining wall are in the town’s right-of-way and the Town is willing to modify the easement with certain caveats for emergency work. Drafts were sent to the Board prior to the meeting. Final documents will be approved by the Town Engineer and the Attorney for the Town prior to the Supervisor signing them. TBS 05 21 2012 Page 6 of 10 TB RESOLUTION NO. 2012 - 108: Authorizing the Town Supervisor to Execute Modification of Easement for 6 Saunders Road to Permit Encroachment of House Corner into Easement Whereas , the Town of Ithaca is the holder of a 20-foot wide easement for a sanitary sewer line easement located near Saunders Road in the Town of Ithaca, New York, as granted in the deed from Malloy Brothers Construction, Inc. to the Town of Ithaca dated December 2, 1994 and recorded May 10, 1995 in the Tompkins County Clerk’s Office in Liber 746 of Deeds at page 80, and as shown on a subdivision map entitled “Final Plat of the Subdivision of Chase Pond, Town of Ithaca, County of Tompkins, State of New York” prepared by George Schlecht, L.P.E. & L.S. Nos. 49382 & 49190, dated November 11, 1992, revised June 2, 1993, August 25, 1993, and September 28, 1993, approved June 11, 1993 by the Tompkins County Department of Health, approved December 13, 1993 by the Planning Board of the Town of Ithaca, and filed December 13, 1993 in the Tompkins County Clerk’s Office in Map Drawer V as Map or Sheet 108 (Instrument No. 284180-001) (hereinafter the “Easement”), and Whereas , Kevin F. Hallock and Tina M. Hallock, of 6 Saunders Road, Ithaca, New York 14850 (hereinafter “Hallock”) are the owners of real property located at 6 Saunders Road in the Town of Ithaca, County of Tompkins and State of New York, Tax Map Parcel No. 44.2-2-3 (deed recorded in the Tompkins County Clerk’s Office as Instrument No. 473299-001), which real property is encumbered by said Easement, and Whereas , a survey map of the Hallock premises entitled "Resurvey Map, Lot 3 ~ Subdivision of Chase Pond, Town of Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York" prepared by Michael J. Reagan, L.L.S. No. 049892, dated April 25, 2012, a copy of which is attached hereto, shows a corner of the house on the premises owned by Hallock is located within the bounds of Easement area, and Whereas , the house corner encroaches into the Easement by approximately 3.3 feet, and Whereas , the Town Engineer and the Superintendent of Public Works have determined that there is enough room in the easement for the Town to perform future maintenance work and replacement of the sewer main without disturbing the house corner, and Whereas , the Town is amenable to modifying the Easement to permit the continued encroachment of the house corner, Now, therefore, be it Resolved , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approves the attached Modification of Easement to permit the continued encroachment of the house corner, and authorizes the Town Supervisor to execute the Modification of easement on behalf of the Town, subject to the approval of the Town Engineer and Attorney for the Town. Moved: Eric Levine Seconded: Pat Leary Vote: Ayes – Engman, Goodman, Leary, and Levine Absent: Horwitz, DePaolo and Hunter TBS 05 21 2012 Page 7 of 10 Penny Lane Water Main Replacement Water Improvement Project TB RESOLUTION No. 2012-109: Authorization to Award Contract for Construction of the Town of Ithaca Penny Lane Water Main Replacement Water Improvement and to Establish the Town of Ithaca Penny Lane Water Main Replacement Water Improvement Capital Project Fund WHEREAS: On May 16, 2012 the Town of Ithaca Director of Public Works/Highway Superintendent received bids for the Town of Ithaca Penny Lane Water Main Replacement Water Improvement project consisting of the replacement of 700 feet of existing ductile iron main with new 8” water main made of Polywrapped Ductile Iron pipe, new valves, hydrant connections and related ancillary facilities will be placed as necessary, and WHEREAS: The Director of Public Works has reviewed the bids and qualifications of the bidders and has determined that the low bid of $91,900 for the total project made by Timothy Simpson Construction, 129 Hotchkiss Road, Chenango Forks, NY 13746, is a qualified bid, and WHEREAS: At the January 9, 2012 Town Board meeting under Resolution No. 2012-011 the maximum amount of $150,000.00 was authorized to be expended by the Town of Ithaca for this Improvement, now therefore be it RESOLVED: that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca authorizes the award of the contract for the Town of Ithaca Penny Lane Water Main Replacement Water Improvement project to Timothy Simpson Construction, subject to final approval of the contract documents by the Town Engineer and Attorney for the Town, and be it further RESOLVED: that the Town Supervisor is authorized to execute such contract upon such approval; and be it further RESOLVED: that the Director of Public Works is authorized to approve change orders to such contract upon receipt of appropriate justification provided that the maximum amount of such change orders shall not in the aggregate exceed $10,000.00 without prior authorization of this Board, and provided further that the total project cost, including the contract, engineering, legal and other expenses does not exceed the maximum authorized cost of the project, and be it further RESOLVED: that the Town Finance Officer is directed and authorized to establish a “Town of Ithaca Penny Lane Water Main Replacement Water Improvement” capital project fund to record all necessary and appropriate budgetary and cash transactions, and transfer $91,900 bid amount plus a $10,000 contingency to establish the construction account, and $1,000 for ancillary project costs, for a total capital project fund budget of $102,900. Moved: Eric Levine Seconded: Pat Leary Vote: Ayes – Engman, Goodman, Leary, and Levine Absent: Horwitz, DePaolo and Hunter TBS 05 21 2012 Page 8 of 10 Court Security Contract TB RESOLUTION NO. 2012- 110: AUTHORIZATION FOR THE TOWN SUPERVISOR TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT WITH THE VILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHTS FOR A COURT SECURITY OFFICER WHEREAS , the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca desires to have and has had a uniformed police officer in attendance during Wednesday night Town Court as a court attendant to foster a sense of decorum, but without providing any policing service or protection; and WHEREAS , in the interest of intermunicipal cooperation, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Cayuga Heights provides this limited service to the Town of Ithaca in a cost effective manner; and WHEREAS , Article 5-G of the New York State General Municipal Law authorizes municipal corporations to enter into agreements for the performance of their respective functions, powers and duties on a cooperative basis; and WHEREAS, the Town contracted for such services June 1, 2006 for a term of one year with no subsequent contracts on file, however the service has continued over the years; and WHEREAS , it was the desire of both the Town and Village to have a subsequent contract with the proposed three year term; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves entering into a subsequent Agreement with Village of Cayuga Heights to provide Court Security based on the terms in the attached draft contract; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Town Board authorizes the Supervisor to execute the contract on behalf of the Town of Ithaca, subject to the approval of the Attorney for the Town. Moved: Eric Levine Seconded: Pat Leary Vote: Ayes – Engman, Goodman, Leary, and Levine Absent: Horwitz, DePaolo and Hunter Consent TB RESOLUTION NO. 2012-111: Consent Agenda BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approves and/or adopts the following Consent Agenda items: a.Approval of Minutes of April 23 and May 9, 2012 b.Town of Ithaca Abstract Moved: Eric Levine Seconded: Bill Goodman Vote: Ayes – Engman, Goodman, Leary, and Levine TBS 05 21 2012 Page 9 of 10 Absent: Horwitz, DePaolo and Hunter TB RESOLUTION NO. 2012- 111a; Approval of Minutes of April 23"* and May 9"^. 2012 WHEREAS, the draft minutes of the April 23,2012 and May 9,2012 of the Town Board have been submitted for review and approval; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the governing Town Board hereby approves the submitted minutes as the final minutes of the April 23, 2012 and May 9, 2012 of the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca. TB RESOLUTION NO. 2012 -lllb; Town of Ithaca Abstract WHEREAS, the following numbered vouchers have been presented to the Ithaca Town Board for approval of payment; and WHEREAS, the said vouchers have been audited for payment by the said Town Board; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the governing Town Board hereby authorizes the payment of the said vouchers in total for the amounts indicated. VOUCHER NOS. 2122 - 2217 General Fund Town wide 105,492.21 General Fund Part Town 12,242.93 Highway Fund Part Town 105,457.55 Water Fund 55,942.65 Sewer Fund 12,479.86 East Shore Drive Water Main 828.05 Fire Protection Fund 265,632.00 Forest Home Lighting District 55.04 Glenside Lighting District 21.87 Renwick Heights Lighting District 29.08 Eastwood Commons Lighting District 39.86 Clover Lane Lighting District 5.04 Winner's Circle Lighting District 7.56 Burleigh Drive Lighting District 17.64 West Haven Road Lighting District 69.88 Coddington Road Lighting District 40.68 Trust and Agency 4100.00 Debt Service 420.00 TOTAL 562,981.90 TBS 05 21 2012 Page 10 of 10 Review of Correspondence Paulette Terwilliger, Town ( \ Mr. Bates discussed the letter from a resident on Blackstone Ave who is upset about a neighbors home construction. The issue was reviewed at the Public Works Committee and it has been determined that he has met all codes of the Town and although his is pushing the envelope, it is a legal construction. It was decided that Mr. Engman would respond in writing stating that although it is not typical and not what he would like to see, it is legal. Town Hall Maintenance Items - Mr. Levine suggested this be moved to the next Study Session because the board members that are absent are the ones who have not heard the report before; the members present have heard it at the committee level. Town of Dryden Sewer Billing - Mr. Engman explained that he has been working on this for 2 years requesting meetings, sending letters and emails and he has not received a lot of response, especially regarding the payment of fees. He sent a bill over a month ago hoping for a response but did not receive anything. He suggested the next step is to have our attorney send a letter. He explained the billing calculation and the amount owed. Yearly it is not large, but accumulated over the past it is a sizeable amount. Discuss Potential Corporate Personhood Resolution - Ms. Leary explained that the county is considering one and the city has passed one and she used a draft that the state of Vermont's draft along with those to prepare a draft for the town. Citizens United has brought this to the forefront and there are local groups as well. Mr. Engman asked if there was a time constraint and Ms. Leary and Mr. Goodman did not feel that there was and so he suggested this be put on the next ' \ agenda when the full board is present. The basic premise is that corporations aren't people and spending money is not speech covered by the protection afforded free speech. Mr. Goodman will forward Ms. Leary's draft to the local group and he thinks some people will come to comment and urge the board to support the resolution. Meeting was adjourned upon motion and a second at 6:33 p.m. Submittec